William sowd



(No Model.)

f W. soWDoN. APPARATUS FOR DUPLIGATB WHIST.

Patented Peb. 26, 1895.

ass# v UNTTED STATES PATENT EETEE.

WILLIAM SOWDON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR DUPLICATE WHIST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,843, dated February 26, 1895.

Serial No. 471,470. (No model.)

To all whom 1225 may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SowDoN, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Duplicate Whist, of which the following is a specification.

The object of myinvention is to produce an apparatus for playing the game now known as duplicate whist, which apparatus shall comprise the fewest number of parts, be simple and compact in its structure, readily understood and operated, and simple and economical to manufacture.

There are a number of apparatuses and systems now in use for playing the game of duplicate whist, but such apparatuses and systems are somewhat difficult to comprehend without considerable study, difficult to operate, inconvenient to handle, expensive and not altogether efficient. By my invention however, I obtain a highly useful device or' apparatus, and in lthe accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention, in which- Figure l is a top or plan view of a box or receptacle included within my invention and constituting one box or receptacle or a numloer of such boxes or receptacles, which are usually employed in playing duplicate whist. Fig. 2 is a top or plan View of the box or receptacle shown in Fig. 1, with the cards and dividers removed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken through line .frof Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an end view of the box or receptacle with the cover applied; and Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken through line -fy--y of Fig. l, showing, however, one of the dividers and one hand of cards in an upright position.

' It is assumed that the game of whist is well understood, and without describing in detail the rules for playing whist, but referring particularly to the apparatus embodying my invention, shown in the drawings, A represents a box or receptacle made of any suitable material, and of any convenient size and shape, preferably, however, of wood or paste-board, and of the shape shown in Fig. l, and which box or receptacle is supplied with a cover B. This box or receptacle is fitted with two metal rods C D, which pass lengthwise in the box near the sides, or more than two such rods may be used and arranged on either side of the box, as desired. `Over such rods are adapted to slide one or more, usually a number, of dividers E, each of which dividers may be appropriately numbered, lettered or marked in some way which will distinguish them from each other, preferably numbered in rotation as shown in the drawings, for the purposes to be hereinafter explained. These dividers have holes through them, near their side edges as shown in Figs. 1,73 and 5 through which holes the rods C and D pass, and as these dividers are preferably made of pasteboard (although, of course, it is to be understood they may be made of any other suitable material as wood, metal, celluloid, the), and if made of pasteboard or other soft material, the holes may be provided with eyelets a, whereby the holes or'openings therein will not wear larger and will enable the dividers to more easily move or slide Vover the rods. These dividers may be moved from end to end of the rods and from end to end of the box or receptacle and between which dividers are placed cards or packs of cards or separate hands of cards, as F, in the game of whist as the hands are played, as shown in Fig. 5, and these dividers are so hung or supported on the rods C and D that they will easily slide thereover, for when they are tilted, as shown in Fig. 5, their lower ends will not touch the bottom of the box or receptacle, although when upright they may touch the bottom of the box, as one of them is so shown in said Fig. 5.

It is important that the cards Should be so held in the box that they will not become disarranged while the games are being played. This is provided for by supporting the cards in an inclined position upon a roughened surface, the inclined support being shown as provided by one end wall ot' the box and a step b in the box in proximity to the same. The end divider as shown, or the end card, will rest at its lower end against the step b and at its upper end against the end Wall of the box and will thus be supported in an inclined position, and thus all ofthe cards and dividers will be held in an inclined position and there will be no fear of the cards falling over on their faces whether the boxes contain a single hand or a few hands or are nearly or quite full. The roughened surface is shown IOC as provided by lining the bottom of the box or receptacle with a strip of plush or velvet or other suitable material c, and the edges of the cards rest upon this velvet strip and are thus securely held from sliding.

If desired the whole bottom of the box may be lined with velvet, cloth, chamois, dac., or the desired roughened surface may be otherwise produced.

With a box constructed as above described the separate hands of cards may be put in place one after another as the hands are slowly played, and they will remain in place notwithstanding slight vibrations of the ta-` ble or board upon which the game is being played, without falling or sliding or becoming mixed and confused. Vhen the duplicates are played the hands maybe taken out of the boxes and played in any desired succession or order.

In the drawings I have illustrated only one box, but in playing the game of duplicate whist it is usual to employ four boxes, as four persons usually engage in the game, and these boxes are constructed alike, so that while my invention is illustrated in the single box, represented in the drawings, it is to be understood that four of such boxes will usually be employed constituting a complete duplicate whist apparatus according to my invention, and each of the boxes will be appropriately marked so as to distinguish them from each other, and so that each player may have a separate distinguishable box or receptacle in which to place the hands of cards used by him after they have been played, the character of marking which I prefer being as follows: One of the boxes will be marked in some conspicuous or convenient place, Original north-duplicate east. Another box will be marked, Original east-duplicate south. Another box will be marked, Original south-duplicate westg and the other box will be marked Original west-duplicate north; whereby I employ the points of the compass as the distinguishing feature, the players taking the box for their own hands according to their positions with relation to the points of the compass as will be understood. When the game of whist is being played the cards are dealt and each player when the hand is through takes his cards and places them in his own box, the iirst hand being placed between the dividers l and 2, the second hand between the dividers 2 and 3, dac., until all the hands are played, or the packs or hands are put in firstv and the dividers moved upas will be understoodgand While in the drawings I have illustrated only twelve dividers, it is to be understood that any number of dividers more or less may be employed within the spirit of my invention, in which event, of course, a greater number of packs of cards will have to be used. Then when all the packs, or all the hands are played according to the desire of the players, and the separate hands played have been properly deposited in the appropriate boxes, the boxes are moved or shifted so that each player will have a different box, usually the partners in one series taking the boxes containing the hands of theiropponents and playingin another series the hands which their opponents had before, thereby duplicating the play of the hands, whereby the game derives its name, all the cards of each hand being kept together as they are played, and each hand kept separate by the dividers as just explained, and as will be understood by persons familiar with the game.

While I have described my invention as particularly relating to the game of whist, it is to be understood that the box or apparatus embodying my invention shownin the drawings hereinbefore described and set forth in the claim hereinafter following may be used for other games, and my invention includes the use of such box or apparatus for any game in which it may be used or for analogous purposes; and

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a duplicate whist apparatus, a box constructed to hold playing cards and having a rough upper surface at its bottom to prevent the cards from slipping thereon, guide rods therein arranged parallel with the bottom and sides of the box and extending from end to end ot' the box, and movable dividers tted to slide freely upon said guide rods from end to end of the box, and a step at the bottom of the box constructed so as to co-operate with the back of the box and the roughened upper surface of the bottom of the box to hold said dividers and the playing cards between them in inclined position, substantially as set forth.

This speciiication signed and witnessed this 15th day of April, A. D. 1893.

WILLIAM SOWDON.

In presence of- E. M. TAYLOR, M. GIBSON.

IOC 

